The first excerpt is from a communication between Bickle and the husband of Deborah Perkins, right when the scandal was breaking. The arrogance of Bickle to send this to the husband of a woman he knows he abused for four years is staggering. What is worse however is the utter butchering of Matthew 18. Mike Bickle's victims do not have to go to him according to these verses, which I have provided as the key verses above. These verses were not designed so sheep have to go to their abusive shepherds and work things out. This is the same nonsense that Dr. Michael Brown tried to say when defending his abuse from 20 years earlier. Abusive leaders hide behind Matthew 18 because they retain all the power in that scenario and control all the information. The second excerpt is the admission from FIREFLY that this Matthew 18 meeting scheme was a primary feature at IHOPKC and was used to protect leadership and Bickle. Imagine the horror of being sexually assaulted by someone you looked up to as a spiritual leader and then when you get up the courage to report it, you are forced to "confront him." To make matters worse, you are taught that the process is biblical when it clearly is not. This was not a one off either. This was IHOPKC. Bickle will answer when he stands before Christ but it is the leadership that allowed this garbage to go on for decades. The third excerpt is from the "Purity Covenant" developed by Bickle. So, a man who knew he had built this false prophetic empire on the bones of his 12-year-old victims, made his students live by a "purity covenant." The majority of these guidelines involved informing leadership and telling no one else. Using Matthew 18 to control the flow of information. The language throughout the covenant was about not sinning in immorality, not being turned over to Satan, and confessing all. Written by a man who told multiple girls, some underage, that God showed him his wife would die so they could be together. Disgusting for sure but only allowable by the complicit leadership. The final excerpt on Matthew 18 is a victim (IS #8) story about an 18-year-old being sexually assaulted by a staff member (ASM #5). This poor girl, who just thought she came to IHOPKC to serve God, was then victimized again by leadership who punished her and forced her to meet with her abuser. Before you go thinking I am being unfair to leadership, consider this from the report as well:
'On December 6, 2023, LAGUARDIA met with the Ministry Outreach team and an attorney who
guided them through a 50-page document that the Executive Leadership Team (ELT)28 had
received from the Advocate Group (AG)29. During the meeting, IW #206 mentioned that
LAGUARDIA had urged the group to disregard the allegations against BICKLE. When IW #206
asked LAGUARDIA about the story of BICKLE'S wife dying, LAGUARDIA responded by
saying, "Jesus is going to return soon, Mike and Diane are going to preach boldly, Diane is
going to die a martyr, and Mike will have to marry someone else."' - FIREFLY Report
The IHOPKC leadership was meeting with their Ministry Outreach Team two months after the scandal broke and still telling them to disregard the allegations! They were clearly on board with the false prophecies of Bickle's wife dying and supported it! Yes, Mike Bickle is a sick man but so was all of the IHOPKC leadership who should never be allowed near church leadership again. The LaGuardia reference here is Lenny LaGuardia, who just a few months ago was begging for money online to start a new children's ministry because that was his role at IHOPKC. Did you get that? The guy who had no problem with Bickle false prophesying to lure minors into bed, was starting a new children's ministry. Absolutely repulsive. Now let us turn to the horrific stories in this report that are actually not related directly to Mike Bickle. FIREFLY identified 16 accused staff members (ASM), who were accused in the interviewing process of sexual assault. When the leader is a sexual predator, what he leads becomes a haven for the same. There is a reason why all of the Kansas City false prophets fell from being sexual abusers. Of the 16, FIREFLY received permission to speak about nine of them. I will highlight some now:
"In 2010, ASM #2 allegedly sexually assaulted and raped a 16-year-old male, IS #24. We have
attempted to contact ASM #2, and ASM #2 referred us to his attorney. We did receive an email
response that stated he was willing to cooperate with the third-party investigation but, because of pending legal action, was forbidden to be interviewed. (Note that on October 17, 2024, the
Jackson County, Missouri prosecutor decided not to file charges against ASM #2) According to IW #2, ASM #2 was involved in youth leadership at IHOPKC and led a small group of teen boys. IW #4 stated that he would often take the boys on outings to places like the YWCA gym in Overland Park, MO. While at the gym, the boys would be encouraged to disrobe and take Showers. IS #25 stated that ASM #2 would find ways to be alone with the boys and ask personal questions about their sexuality. IW #4 advised he contacted SLIKER about the allegations occurring during the youth outings, and that SLIKER stated, "he didn't think it was a big deal." ASM #2 was allowed to continue in the ministry. IW #2 noted that the situation was reported to GREAVES and LAGUARDIA, and nothing was done. IW #50 went to LAGUARDIA stating that ASM #2 needed to be removed from working around kids, and he was told, "No one could be banned." IW #27, while working in the children's department, was never notified of the actions being taken by the ELT during the investigation of ASM #2 and what occurred during the youth outings. IW #8 stated that ASM #2, while in the prayer room, pulled a boy, who was unable to be identified as part of this investigation, into a side room to talk to him about masturbation, his need to confess, and that he wanted to find time to shower with him to wash away his sins." - FIREFLY Report
